Electric pull socket



July 7,1931. c. E. AvERY- 1,813,108

ELECTRIC PULLSOCKET Filed Nov. 25. 1929 71G i ball takes the place of oneofthe chain ballsv I at the'approp'riate position. This stop ball Patented Jul f'7, 1931 u'mr-gn s1-mas PATENT CHARLES E. AVERY, OF BRInGEPon'r, 'ooNNno'r-Iou'r, ASSIGNOR TO'HARVEY HUBBELL,"

INGORPORATED, or smnenronm, CONNECTICUT, A oonrona'rronor-commorxcom ELECTRIC PI IL L-S OC K'ET Application filed November 25.1929. Serial 110. 409,537.

. v This inventionrelates to a stop for'fan felectricpull' socket chain and has for an object to provide 'a stop which'will allow the n 1 guide showing the chain therethrough to which one embodiment of the stop constituting the invention has been applied, the stop chain to be pulled with less effort.

At present, asis well'known, an electric pull socket'chainwhichzconsists of series of balls and connecting linksis usually provided wit-ha stop which consists ofja ball of larger diameter than thediameter'otthe re maining balls of the'cha-in; and this stop "is largerthan the minimum diameter of the I "bell shaped chain'g'uide, and thus stops the rest of the chain from entering the socket after the chain hasjbeen pulled and released.

Due to the larger diameter of the stop ball,-

' the chain ball or balls next thereto on either side thereof can not come in contact with the I 5 allow the balls of the chainnext thereto to I socketworks,not shown,"in the usual manner by any su table means as by having lts lnner the guide. 4

"vide a stop which will have all the advaninside of the bell of the chain guide; thus increasing the friction of this stop ball against the bellfa'nd' making the pullingof the chain somewhat of an effort, and the chain does not slide easily and smoothly on the surface of the guide because practicallyall the pressure and, therefore,the friction between the chain and the guide is at the single point of contact of this large ball on-thesurface of 'This 'inventionhas for an to'protages of the present ballstopand which-will ride on 'theinside of the bell and thusdistribute, the pressure and friction between the chain andguide to lessen the effort necessary in operating thefpull'chain andgive a smoother and easier operation. 10

It is also an object of the inventionto provide a stop which can be applied to any desired position on ,the chain.-

With the foregoing and other obi ects in =view,f this invention comprises certain 0011 structions,f combinations and arrangements of parts-as set forth, disclosedand claimed connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

formed from 5-. 1 l e Thisinvention has been shownaas applied to an electric pull socket and is adapted for use with any type of socket or switch using a "switch; not shown."

having the usual 1 2311 shape'd" I i and chain. p r Fig. 2'showsa section through the, bell Figs. land 5 are planfland sideviewsof one form ofblank from whichoneembodim'ent of this invention is formed, i p Figs. 6' and? are plan'a'nd sideeview s of an embodiment of'the stop of this'inven'tion the blank shown in Figs. 4

pull chain. The enclosingshell shown com prises the usual shell or body section-10 and thecapsection-11 enclosing the works ofthe socket including any suitable type of pull socket switch, not shown in detail in the pres- 'ent construction as they of themselves form no part of'this invention. The shellsection 10 has the usual notch" 12 leading from-its "upper or.- inner end for thebell shaped guide 14 ;for operating the 13 for the pull chain The bell guidel3 may beattached'tothe over the outside of member 17 as shown, the 4 chain 14. passing through guide 13 and memher 17 to the switch not shown. Asusual, the

diameter of the opening 19 inbell guide 13 is enough larger than the-diameterof balls 20 of fiexibleball chain 14 so that the chain 14 may pass freely therethrough, the chain I p v fl comprising balls 20 and connecting links in theannexed specification considered in 21. f y f When the chain 14 is pulled andreleased,

there is a tendencylfor the balls 20.and links 21 thereof to passthroii'gh the opening '19 in guide 13 into the socket works due to the action of the retracting spring and to prevent this, it is customary to affix a stop member on the chain 14 so as not to allow any extra links to enter the socket. A common form of stop member is a ball of a diameter larger than that .ofopening 19 whichis usually substituted for one of the balls 20. When pulling the chain, the balls thereof ride on the inner surface22 of the guide 13. When theconventional large ball stop is used, however, the friction resisting movement of the chain is liable to be excessive due to the fact that the large ball stop raises that part of the chain so that the chain does not smoothly follow the curvature of surface 22 so long as the large stop ball is in contact therewith, and as a result there is a kinking in the chain at this point. Furthermore, this large stop ball usually prevents the next adjacent balls 20 from. riding on surface 22, thus further increasing the friction and resistance to movement of the chain as all the pressure of the pull is carried by the single contact of the ba'llwith the surface of the. guide.

It is to avoid these disadvantages, and to provide a stop for the chain that'will allow it to ride smoothly and easily on surface 22 of guide13, thus allowing the chain to be pulled with much less effort and eliminating the necessity for jerking the chain, that this invention is intended. Instead of the usual large ball stop, the stop 23' herein provided comprises a washer having a diameter sufficiently larger than the diameter of opening 19 that it will not pass through, which is placed about a link 21 at the, proper distance from the switch operating end of chain14.

This stop 23 may be formed from the blank :24 shown in Figs. 4 and 5. This flat blank 2 1 is bent and dished inwardly until the ends 25 come into substantial contact as shown in "Figs. 6and 7, which also serves to reduce the outside diameter of the Washer at the same time to adiameter-as shown sufiiciently larger than the diameter of opening 19. The diameter of the opening 26 in the Washer is sufficiently greater. than the diameter of links 21 to permit the stop to rock or turn sidewise on the linkas shown in Fig. 3,and is less than the diameter of balls-20. The slit 27-left by the meeting of ends 25 may be allowed to remain as shown in'Figs. 6 and 7 or may be closed, if desired. When closed, thestop 23 is placed on thejproper link 21 atthe-time chain 14 is being assembled, or if left open,

it may be sprung apart and then placed over the proper link 21.

In operation, the'stop 23 will take the position shown in Fig. 2 when the chain 14 is in released position, the edge of the inner opening' 26holding against the adjacent ball 20 while the outeredge of the stop, whose diameter is larger than that of opening 19, will cont-act with the inside of guide13 and thus prevent the chain 1 1 from entering into the socket works. As will be observed, the diameter of opening 26 is substantially larger than that of link 21. When the chain is pulled, this will permit the stop 23 to pivot about the point 28 as in Fig. 3, thus allowing the adjacent balls 20 to ride on surface 22 and allowing the curvature of the chain to be the same as the curvature of surface 22. The stop will swing to the position shown in Fig. 3, and being loose on the link because of the relatively large opening 26 merely rests loosely on the surface of the guide and then will have no further substantial frictional effect on surface 22 such as the large ball stop has, thus permitting the chain 14 to be pulled with much less effort and without a jerk and thus giving much easier and smoother operation.

Although the stop 23 is shown as dished,

as is the preferred form, it will be obvious ture of this invention, what is claimed is:

1. In an electric pull socket, a chain comprislng a series of balls and connecting links, a stop for said cha1n comprising a washer loosely fitting over a connecting link so that said washer can rock sideways.

2. In an electric pull socket, a chain comprising a series of balls and connecting links, a stop for said chain comprising a dished washer loosely fitting over a connecting link so that said washer can rock and swing.

3. In an electric pull socket, a chain coinprising a series of balls and connecting links, a stop for said chain comprising a washer having an opening of a diameter greater than the diameter of the connecting links and less than the diameter of the balls.

4. In an electric pull socket, a chain comprising a series of balls and connecting links, a stop for said chain comprising a washer of .a diameter greater than the diameter of the of the balls.

6. In an electric pull socket, a bell guide for a pull chain, a pull chain in said guide comprising a series of balls and connecting links,.:a stop for saidchain comprising a washer-having a diameter larger than the minimum diameter of the bell opening in the guide,said washer having an opening whose diameteris larger than the diameter of the chainlinks to permit it to rock sideways on the link andsmaller than thediameter of the chain balls.

7. In an electric .pullsocket, a bell guide for a pull chain, a pull chain in said guide 1 comprising a series ofball's and connecting links, a stop for said chain comprising a dished slit washer having a diameter larger than the minimum diameter of the bell opening in the guide, said washer having an opening whose diameter is larger than the diameter of the chain links to permit it to rock sideways on the link and smaller then the diameter of the chain balls.

1 8. In an electric pull socket, a bell guide, a ball pull chain passing through said guide comprising spaced balls connected by links, a

stop mounted on one of the links, said stop being adapted to rock sideways upon passing over the wall ofthe guide and permit the balls of the chain to rest onthe surface of-the guide, and said stop being larger than the smallest part of said guide to limit inward a movement of the chain.

In testimony whereof I aflix mysignature.

CHARLES E. AVERY. 

